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Article Dean Dorton

Starting a new business is an exciting time. But before you even open the doors, you generally have to spend a lot of money. You may have to train workers and pay for rent, utilities, marketing and more.

Entrepreneurs are often unaware that many expenses incurred by start-ups can’t be deducted right away.

How expenses are handled on your tax return
When planning a new enterprise, remember these key points:

  • Start-up costs include those incurred or paid while creating an active trade or business — or investigating the creation or acquisition of one. Organizational costs include the costs of creating a corporation or partnership.
  • Under the federal tax code, taxpayers can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up and $5,000 of organizational costs. The $5,000 deduction is reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount by which your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining costs must be amortized over 180 months on a straight-line basis.
  • No deductions or amortization write-offs are allowed until the year when “active conduct” of your new business commences. That usually means the year when the enterprise has all the pieces in place to begin earning revenue. To determine if a taxpayer meets this test, the IRS and courts will generally ask: Did the taxpayer undertake the activity intending to earn a profit? Was the taxpayer regularly and actively involved? Has the activity actually begun?

An important decision
Time may be of the essence if you have start-up expenses that you’d like to deduct this year. You need to decide whether to take the elections described above. Recordkeeping is important. Contact us about your business start-up plans. We can help with the tax and other aspects of your new venture.

Article Dean Dorton

Tax-advantaged retirement plans allow your money to grow tax-deferred — or, in the case of Roth IRA accounts, tax-free. But annual contributions are limited by tax law, and any unused limit can’t be carried forward to make larger contributions in future years. So it’s a good idea to use up as much of your annual limits as possible. Have you maxed out your 2015 limits?

April 18 deadline

While it’s too late to add to your 2015 401(k) contributions, there’s still time to make 2015 IRA contributions. The deadline is April 18, 2016. The limit for total contributions to all IRAs generally is $5,500 ($6,500 if you were age 50 or older on December 31, 2015).

A traditional IRA contribution also might provide some savings on your 2015 tax bill. If you and your spouse don’t participate in an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k) — or you do but your income doesn’t exceed certain limits — your traditional IRA contribution is fully deductible on your 2015 tax return.

Evaluate your options

If you don’t qualify for a deductible traditional IRA contribution, see if you qualify to make a Roth IRA contribution. If you exceed the applicable income-based limits, a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution may even make sense. Neither of these options will reduce your 2015 tax liability, but they still provide valuable opportunities for tax-deferred or tax-free growth.

We can help you determine which type of contributions you’re eligible for and what makes sense for you.

Article Dean Dorton

…But Should They?

Bonus depreciation allows businesses to recover the costs of depreciable property more quickly by claiming additional first-year depreciation for qualified assets. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the PATH Act) extended 50% bonus depreciation through 2017.

The break had expired December 31, 2014, for most assets. So the PATH Act may give you a tax-saving opportunity for 2015 you wouldn’t otherwise have had. Many businesses will benefit from claiming this break on their 2015 returns. But you might save more tax in the long run if you forgo it.

What assets are eligible

For 2015, new tangible property with a recovery period of 20 years or less (such as office furniture and equipment) qualifies for bonus depreciation. So does off-the-shelf computer software, water utility property and qualified leasehold-improvement property.

Acquiring the property in 2015 isn’t enough, however. You must also have placed the property in service in 2015.

Should you or shouldn’t you?

If you’re eligible for bonus depreciation and you expect to be in the same or a lower tax bracket in future years, taking bonus depreciation (to the extent you’ve exhausted any Section 179 expensing available to you) is likely a good tax strategy. It will defer tax, which generally is beneficial.

But if your business is growing and you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the near future, you may be better off forgoing bonus depreciation. Why? Even though you’ll pay more tax for 2015, you’ll preserve larger depreciation deductions on the property for future years, when they may be more powerful — deductions save more tax when you’re in a higher bracket.

We can help

If you’re unsure whether you should take bonus depreciation on your 2015 return — or if you have questions about other depreciation-related breaks, such as Sec. 179 expensing — contact us.

Article Dean Dorton

If you’re like many Americans, you may not start thinking about filing your tax return until the April 15 deadline (this year, April 18) is just a few weeks — or perhaps even just a few days — away. But there’s another date you should keep in mind: January 19. That’s the date the IRS began accepting 2015 returns, and filing as close to that date as possible could protect you from tax identity theft.

How filing early helps

In this increasingly common scam, thieves use victims’ personal information to file fraudulent tax returns electronically and claim bogus refunds. When the real taxpayers file, they’re notified that they’re attempting to file duplicate returns.

Tax identity theft can cause major headaches to straighten out and significantly delay legitimate refunds. But if you file first, it will be the thief who is filing the duplicate return, not you.

Another key date

Of course you need to have your W-2s and 1099s to file. So another key date to be aware of is February 1 — the deadline for employers to issue 2015 W-2s to employees and, generally, for businesses to issue 1099s to recipients of any 2015 interest, dividend or reportable miscellaneous income payments.

An added bonus

Let us know if you have questions about tax identity theft or would like help filing your 2015 return early. An added bonus of filing early, if you’ll be getting a refund, is enjoying that refund sooner.

Article Dean Dorton

Penalties for failure to file correct information returns (W-2s, 1099s, 1098s, 1042s) have recently increased per new tax rules implemented effective for returns and statements to be filed after December 31, 2015. These penalties are based on the period of delinquency, the intent, and the size of the taxpayer. An unintentional delinquency per return has increased from $30 to $50 for a period of no more than 30 days. Beyond 30 days would be an additional penalty. The maximum for the calendar year increased from $75,000 to $175,000 for small taxpayers. The maximum penalty would increase from $1.5MM to $3MM for “other than small” taxpayers (i.e. those over $5MM of gross receipts).

With the increase in penalties, businesses will need to be more diligent in their collection of information and ensuring that they understand all reporting requirements. To avoid penalties for incorrect information or late filings:

  • Obtain a completed and signed W-9 from any vendor prior to payment.
  • Obtain employee social security numbers and home addresses prior to the first payroll.
  • Use the IRS TIN (tax identification number) matching system to avoid incorrect tax id numbers.
  • To ensure meeting all specified IRS deadlines, refer to the IRS website and form instructions or hire a qualified professional to generate the required forms.

For further information, please contact your Dean Dorton advisor or Gina Whitis at gwhitis@deandorton.com.